Dual purpose construction elevator



. United States Patent [72] Inventor James V. Matlock FOREIGN PATENTS I 13420 JudlchlRoad, Bumsville, 2,045 /1900 Austria 187/96 1 A l N 232 2 55378 28,657 /1956 Finland 187/2 {32; Fi lz d 0' May 13,1968 Primary Examinerl-larvey C. Hornsby Patented Nov. 24 1970 Attorney-Merchant & Gould [54] AL PURPOSE CONSTRUCTION ELEVATOR ABSTRACT: A construction elevator is provided having a crosshead member and a platform supported thereby, adapted 2 Clalms, 5 Drawing Figs.

to be guidedun its travel by a pair of guide rails. A hitch [52] [LS- Cl. 187/96, member Supported by a hoi-stingcame extends through a veni 187,86 cal opening in the crosshead member and is reciprocable ['51] ll". Cl. 366') 15/00 a fixed amount with respect thereul The hitch member Field 187/ directly supports a concrete bucket in the elevator, above the 96;2l4/95 5 130, 128 platform, during movements of the elevator above ground 1 level, and also supports the elevator itself by means of a stop [56] References Cited block attached thereto that engages the crosshead member UNITED STATES PATENTS when the hoisting cable is raised. At ground level the concrete 1,124,609 1/1915 Guffey 187/81 bucket rests on the elevator platform.

7/---- 1 l9 5 ,4 74 73 l 5g e /0 a 36 r 4 ll 3 .n 353 4 45 39 8 42' Fl 43 3a 354- B i LE= L'L 'E l 'l ifii .eiim fiaimfin l Patented Nov. 24, 1970 3,542,156

Sheet 2 of 2 55 INVENTOR. JAMES VMATLO/t AT TOFZNEYS i 1 DUAL PURPOSE CONSTRUCTION ELEVATOR BACKGROUND OF THE lNVENTlON 1; Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to the'field of hoisting apparatus and more particularly relates to a dual purpose construction elevator equipped to carry either construction materials or a material hopper such as a concrete bucket.

2. Description of the Prior Art During the time that a building is being constructed, it is normal practice to mount one or more elevators adjacent the building tocarry personnel,- equipment or other materials to the upper floors of the building. These elevators are' normally attached to the outside wall-of the building and are removed afterthe construction is completed. Where large buildings are concerned, it is economically feasible to have several elevators, each being designed for a particular purpose. On smaller buildings, however, the cost of raising more than one or two elevators cannot be justified! If a construction elevator is used to carry personnel, safety regulations require that it'be provided with a cage'to prevent 1 them from falling out of the elevator. Elevators that are designed to carry construction equipment or materials, however, are not normally provided with a cage since it would interfere with the loading and unloading of the elevator. Special elevators have also been designed and are used to carry fluid elevator reaches ground level, the hitch member and concrete bucket continue to move downwardly until the concrete bucket rests on the platform of the elevator.

Since during the time that the elevator is above ground level the concrete bucket is directly supported by the hitch member and hoisting cable, thereis no danger'that the heavy load will adversely affect the basic elevator structure. No damage to the platform or other supporting structure can result since they do not bear the load of the concrete bucket. This load is carried strictly by the hoisting cable and in turn by the outside framework of the elevator.

When the elevator is at ground level, the concrete bucket rests directly on the platformso that it can be quickly and easily filled directly from the spout ofa concrete truck. When the elevator is above ground level, the concrete bucket is supported'a fixed distance above the platform so that a wheelbarmaterials such as concrete, mortar mix, sand, gravel, rock or aggregates. These elevators are normally provided with a large hopper or bucket and-do not have a platform on which materials or personnel can be carried.

During the construction of most buildings of average size, only two elevators will be installed. One of the elevators will have an open platform so that it can be used to carry construction equipment and materials. It can also be used to carry wheelbarrows or other small vehicles loaded with concrete but it is very slow process ,to transport such materials in this manner. The second elevator normally is equipped only with a material hopper or bucket designed to carry fluid material such as concrete. Such an elevator is designed to carry large amounts of concrete on each trip so that the upper concrete floors and other structuralelements can bepoured quickly. However, there are timeswhen it is necessary to transport what might be called intermediate amounts of concrete or other fluid type materials to the upper floors. In such cases, the elevator especially designed to carry only fluid materials may be too large to be used in an efficient manner. It is not efficient to carry small loads with it and if large loads are carried, them material-may notbe utilized quickly enough. -On the other hand, transporting such material to the upper floors j by means. of wheelbarrows or other small vehicles placed on the platform of theother elevator may'prove to be too slow or may otherwise cause delays in utilization of the material being transported.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a dual purpose construction elevator designed to alternate alternatively carry construction equipment on a platform or carry fluid materials such 'as concrete in a bucket supported within the elevator. During the time that the elevator of the present invention is being used to carry regular construction materials, the concrete bucket isrernoved and such at materials are carried by the elevator platform in the usual manner. If it is desired to convertthe elevator to carry concrete or other such materials, a material hopper or concrete bucket is simply attached to a vertical hitch member within the elevator. The upper'end of the vertirow or other vehicle can be moved beneath the bucket to transfer 'the concrete from the bucket to the vehicle. Therefore, very little time .is wasted in either filling or emptying the bucket.

Since the bucket carries much more material than the usual wheelbaarow, much more concrete can be carried on each trip of the elevator. Further, since the concrete carrying vehicles do not have to be raised and lowered with the elevator, their time spent in useful activity is greatly increased. The operator of the vehicle does not have to wait until it is lowered to the ground, filled, and returned to his floor before he can take a load of concrete to the work area.

.During the time when large amounts of concrete are being poured, the elevator of the present invention can be utilized to supplement the concrete carrying capacity of the other elevator designed solely for that purpose. Two elevators can therefore be carrying concrete instead of just one. Although the concrete bucket used with the elevator of the present invention is smaller than those used on elevators designed solely for that purpose, it can carry a significant amount of concrete so that the overall pouring time is reduced.

The present invention is especially useful where somewhat smaller amounts of concrete are required. It can easily provide sufficient concrete, mortar mix, sand, gravel or other such materials for most finishing type projects. Another advantage of the'present invention is that the concrete bucket can be quickly and easily cleaned after being used whereas the cleaning of a larger type of concrete bucket is a difficult and time consuming task. i

The present invention thus provides a dual purpose construction elevator that can be quickly converted between the carrying of equipment and other materials and the carrying of fluid materials such as concrete in a suitable bucket. The change over can be made very rapidly by the simple insertion or removal of a single bolt. Further, even when the concrete bucket is attached, the elevator plato platform remains so that small amounts of equipment can be carried on the platform even when the elevator is being used to carry concrete. These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent when considered in connection with the accompanying specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS I FIG. is a side elevational view of a dual purpose buildingconstruction elevator constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view as seen from the line 2-2 of FIG. I showing the full line position thereof, portions thereof being broken away;-

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view as seen from the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 illustrating cooperating safety brake mechanism in a position corresponding to the full line position of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is anenlarged sectional view as seen from the line 4-4 of FIG. 1 with the parts thereof moved to the dotted line safety brake releasing position; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating the cooperating safety brake mechanism in a released position relative to FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals are used throughout the several views to indicate like elements of the invention, there is disclosed a construction elevator designated generally by the numeral 10. Elevator is supported within a conventional mast structure having spaced vertical corner members 11 and 12. Corner members 11 and 12 are supported in their vertical positions by a plurality of cross brace members such as 13, 14 and 15 extending between them and the other corner members of the mast structure. Corner members 11 and 12 are supported at ground level in suitable concrete foundations l6 and 17.

Although only two corner members 11 and 12 are shown on the drawings, it should be understood that an additional pair of identical corner members are positioned at the rear corners of the mast structure. These four corner members are connected by the brace members 13, 14 and 15 heretofore described.

A pair of spaced, vertical guide rails 19 and 20 are supported by the mast structure. Guide rails 19 and 20 are supported in their vertical position on opposite sides of elevator 10 and within the mast structure by suitable laterally extending support members 21, 22, 23 and 24. Each support member 21, 22, 23 and 24 is welded or otherwise secured to its associated guide rail 19 or 20 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, for example. The outside ends of the support members 21, 22, 23 and 24 are attached to bars (not shown) extending between the corner members. Guide rails 19 and 20 are thus rigidly positioned generally midway between the front and rear corners of the mast structure and are spaced a slight distance inwardly from the inner sidewalls of the mast structure.

The structure of elevator 10 includes a crosshead member 25 constructed from a pair of oppositely facing channel members 25a and 25b. Crosshead member 25 extends horizontally between the two guide rails 19 and 20. Welded or otherwise securely attached to the opposite ends of crosshead member 25 are a pair of downwardly extending vertical channel members 26 and 27. Channel members 26 and 27 have a generally U-shaped cross section and have their open sides facing outwardly from elevator 10. Bolted or otherwise secured to the bottom end of channel members 26 and 27 is a horizontally extending platform supporting structure 28 having a rectangular wooden platform 29 mounted thereon. A pair of rectangular wooden side walls 30 and 31 are attached to channel members 26 and 27 respectively and extend upwardly a predetermined distance from platform 29.

When elevator 10 is correctly positioned with the mast structure, guide rail 19 is positioned within U-shaped channel member 26, and guide rail 20 is positioned within U-shaped channel member 27. Channel members 26 and 27 are freely movable with respect to guide rails 19 and 20 in a vertical direction, but act to prevent any lateral movements of elevator 10 during use thereof.

Welded to the top surface ofcross head member 25 at each end thereof is a support plate 35, 35a. Support plates 35, 35a extend vertically upwardly from crosshead member 25 and lie in parallel with each other end with the sides of the elevator. Support plates 35, 35a are space a short distance inside of their associated guide rails 19 and 20. Secured to the top edge of each support plate 35, 35a is a U-shaped guide shoe 36, 36a each having the sidewalls thereof positioned around the associated guide rail 19 or 20 in a manner similar to that previously described for channel members 26 and 27. Guide shoes 36 and 36a therefore also act to prevent lateral movements of the elevator with respect to the mast. structure.

Also securely attached to each support plate 35, 35a is a fixed brake shoe member 37. Fixed brake shoe member 37 extends outwardly from support plate 35 closely adjacent the rear surface of guide rail 19. Extending the full distance between support plates 35 and 35a, opposite the guide rails 19 and 20 from brake shoe member 37 is a rotatable drive shaft 38. The opposite ends of drive shaft 38 extend through suitable openings formed in support plate 35 and 35a for rotation therein. Attached to the opposite ends of drive shaft 38 are a pair of brake shoes 39, 39a. Brake shoes 39 and 39a are fixedly attached at a point offset from their centers to the ends of drive shaft 38. The end of each brake shoe 39, 39a opposite their attachment to the drive shaft is rounded and is adapted to be engaged with the associated guide rail 19 and 20 directly opposite the associated fixed brake shoe member 37. During normal operation of the elevator, as shown in FIG. 5, drive shaft 38 is rotated such that brake shoe 39 is out of contact with guide rail 19. However, when drive shaft 38 is rotated in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 5, brake shoe 39 moves to the position shown in FIG. 3 to lock guide rail 19 between it and the fixed brake shoe member 37 to stop the elevator.

Mounted near the center of crosshead member 25 is an apparatus for rotating'drive shaft 38 to operate the brake shoes. A pair of center support plates 42 and 43 are welded to the upper surface of crosshead member 25 on opposite sides of its center, and in parallel with support plates 35 and 35a. Drive shaft 38 extends through suitable openings formed in support plates 42 and 43. Extending generally upwardly and forwardly from drive shaft 38 and adjacent the inner surfaces of support plates 42 and 43 are a pair ofcrank arm members 44 and 44a. The bottom ends of crank arm members 44 and 4412 are welded to shaft 38. Welded to the rear end of support plates 42 and'43 are a pair of generally vertically extending bars 45 and 45a.

The operating members for crank arm 44 include a first arm member 46 having one end pivotally attached to crank arm member 44. The other end of first arm member 46 is pivotally attached to a second arm member 47 almost directly above crosshead member 25. The rear end of second arm member 47 is pivotally attached to the upper end of fixed member 45. Also pivotally attached to the connected ends of first arm member 46 and second arm member 47 is a third arm member 48. It is noted at this point that the other set of arm members operating crank arm member 44a are given'the same numeral designation together with the letter a. Further, it can be seen from the drawings, especially from FIGS. 2 and 4, that when the free end of each third arm member 48, 48a is lifted and rotated upwardly, first arm members 46 and 460 also move upwardly and rearwardly to carry crank arms 44 and 44a with them, thus rotating drive shaft 38 to unlock brake shoes 39 and 39a.

A flat metal plate 50 is welded at its opposite ends to third arm members 48 and 48 a. A pair of springs 51 and 5111 are each connected at their opposite ends to suitable pad eyes welded to thelower surface of metal plate 50 and the upper surface of crosshead member 25, respectively. Springs 51 and 5111 thus tend to pull metal plate 50 in a downward direction to the position shown in FIG. 2, in which position crank arms 44 and 44a are pivoted outwardly to lock brake shoes 39 and 39a against their respective guide rails. Therefore, unless metal plate 50 is held in a raised position as shown in FIG. 4, springs 51 and 51a will automatically move metal plate 50 to its lower position as shown in FIG. 2 such that the'brakes are automatically locked and .the elevator immediately stopped and held in position by the guide rails.

- Extending vertically between channel members 250 and 25b at the center of crosshead member 25 is a hitch member 55. Hitch member 55 has a top end 55a that extends above crosshead member 25 and a bottom end 5512 that extends below crosshead member 25 into the space between crosshead member 25 and platform 29. Hitch member 55 is a unitary metal rod having a rectangular cross section and is designed to reciprocate upwardly and downwardly with respect to crosshead member 25. The top end 55a of hitch member 55 is secured by a bolt 56 to a suitable hoisting cable 57. Hoisting cable 57 is raised and lowered by a standard winch or other which is secured at its center to bottom end 55b, by a single bolt 62. Concrete bucket 60 is of the type thathas an open top so that it can be-quickly and easily filled with concrete or other materials from a truck positioned outside the elevator structure. Concrete bucket60 is also provided with a bottom opening having a closure member positioned thereover that can be manually moved to open or close the bottom opening.

Attached to hitch member 55 between its connection with bucket 60 and crosshead member 25 is a metal stop block 63..

Stop block 63 is basically a rectangular sleeve member fitted around hitch member 55 and secured thereto by means of a bolt 64 extending through alined holes in stop block 63 and a selected one of several holes 65 formed in hitch member 55. Welded to the bottom surface ofcrosshead member .25 is a stop plate 66 that extends between channel members 25a and 25b at their centers. Stop plate 66 is providedwith an opening at'its center slightly larger in size than hitch member 55, and hitch member 55 extends upwardly through this opening. Welded to the top surface'of crosshead member 25 directly above stop plate 66 are a pair of guide blocks 67,6711. Each of the guide blocks 67, 67:: has a groove formed in oneside thereof adapted to be positioned around hitch member 55 to thereby hold hitch member 55 in vertical alinement with respect to crosshead member 25. Again, hitch member 55 is freely movable in a vertical direction within guide blocks 67,

Hitch member 55 is vertically movable between an upper arm 71 is bolted to'hitch member 55 through an intermediate, pivot plate 72. In the rest position of hitch member 55 shown in FIG. 2, scissors assembly 7071 is in a folded position forming an acute angle between scissors arms 70 and". In this .rest position, springs 51 and 51a pull arms 46, 47 and 48 downwardly to lock the brake assembly. When the hitch member 55 is raised by hoisting cable 57, scissors arms 70 and 71 are raised into a vertical position in which they both lie closely adjacent hitch member 55. At the same time, metal plate 50 is raised to a vertical position to release the brakes.

The entire braking system heretofore described is a safety mechanismdesigned to immediately stop elevator 10 should the cable break. Immediately upon breaking of cable 57, springs 51' and 51a will operate to lock the brake shoes 39 and 39a tightly against their associated guide rails to stop the elevator from falling. During normal operation of the elevator above the ground, however, a safety mechanism is held in the position shown in FIG. 4 so that the brake shoes'39 and 39a are released as shown in FIG. 5.

Hitch member 55 is also provided with a plurality of holes 73 adjacent its upper'end through one of which a bolt 74 is is inserted to attach pivot plate 72 thereto. Holes 73 in the upper portion of hitch member 55 are equal in number to holes 65 in the lower portion thereof. Further,the holes are spaced a corresponding distance apart so that if bolt 74 is positioned in the lower hole, bolt 64 is also positioned in the lower hole 65. If

7 bolt 64 is placed in a different hole, bolt 74 is then placed in position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1 and a lower rest position shownin full lines in FIG. 1. In the upper position of hitch member 55, stop block 63 engages the bottom surface of stop plate 66 to prevent further upward movement of hitch member 55. In the lower rest position of hitch member 55, concrete bucket 60 rests directly on a'ndis supportedby platform 29. Again, the raised positionof concrete bucket 60 is desired to move elevator 10 to a position above ground level,

hoisting cable 57 is raised to in turn carry hitch memberSS with it. Since concrete bucket 60 is directly attached to the bottom end of hitch member it immediately moves upwardly with it, but the remaining portions of the elevator including crosshead member 25 and.platforin 29 do not immediately begin to move. Platform 29 remains resting on the ground surface until stop block 63 engages stop plate 66, at .which time crosshead member 25 is carried upwardly with hitch member 55. During the time that elevator 10 is above ground level, bucket is positioned above the surface of platform 29 as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 1. In this raised positioned of bucket60, it is a simple matter toempty the The previously described safetymechanism is also connected to hitch member 55 by means of the mechanism now to be described. A scissors member having a pair of arms70 and 7] pivotally connected together has one end welded to metal plate 50 and the other end pivotally attached to hitch member 55. The upper edge of scissors arm 70 lies directly in line with the upper surface of metal plate 50. The upper end of scissors the corresponding hole 73. In this manner, scissors members 70'7l will reach their vertical position as shown in FIG. 4 at the same time as stop block 63 engages stop plate 66. In this manner, no stress is placedv upon the safety mechanism by hitch member 55. The basic purpose of having holes 65 in hitch member 55 is to change the distance that hitch member 55 can be moved in a upward direction. changes in the stroke may be desirable or necessary if different size concrete buckets 60 are used or if it is desired to raise bucket 60 to a different height.

It can be seen that the present invention provides a dual purpose. construction elevator that is adapted to move between a rest position at ground level and a plurality of raised positions aboveg'round-IeveL-The hitch member 55 not only directly supports the concrete bucket so that no stress is placed upon platform 29 by the bucket, but also supports 'elevator crosshead member 25 and platform 29 by means of stop block 63. The safety mechanism is designed so that it opens the brakes whenever hitch member 55 is raised but automatically locks the elevator in position whenever hitch member 55 is lowered with respect to crosshead member 25. With the present arrangement, the concrete bucket 60 can be quickly and easily filled at ground level since it rests directly on platform 29. When the elevator is raised above ground level, concrete bucket 60 is positioned above platform 29 such that a wheelbarrow can be placed beneath it for quick unloading. If it is desired to carry materials other than concrete, bucket 60 can quickly be removed from hitch member 55 by simply removing a single bolt. With bucket 60 removed, the entire platform29 is available for carrying otherconstruction equipment and materials.

Iclaim: v

1. A dual purpose construction elevator adapted tomove between a pair of guide blocks attached to crosshead, each of said blocks being provided with a groove formed in one side thereof to be positioned around the hitch member to hold the hitch member in vertical alinement with respect to said crosshead member rest. positioned at ground level and a plurality of raised positions above ground level, comprising:

a. aframe having a pair of vertical, oppositely disposed guide rails mounted thereon;

b. a crosshead member extending between said guide rails an elevator platform adapted to carry construction materials or equipment;

means including said crosshead member for supporting said platform a fixed distance below said crosshead member;

. a rigid, vertically extending hitch member extending through a vertical opening in the center of said crosshead member, said rigid hitch member being straight and having top and bottom ends and having a stop block attached thereto between said bottom end and said crosshead member;

f. a concrete bucket removably attached to said bottom end 2. between a rest position at ground level and a plurality of raised positions above ground level, comprising:

of said hitch member for direct support thereby, said hitch member being vertically movable in a straight line between an upper position with said stop block in contact with said crosshead member and said concrete bucket spaced above said platform, and a lower rest position in which said concrete bucket is supported by said platform;

. a hoisting cable attached to said top end of said hitch spring loaded brake shoe means selectively engageable with said guide rails attached to said crosshead member and said hitch member to lock said elevator in position upon movement of said hitch member to said lower rest position.

A dual purpose construction elevator adapted to move a frame having a pair of vertical, oppositely disposed guide rails mounted thereon;

a crosshead member extending between said guide rails and having a pair of guide shoes mounted at each end thereof adapted to engage said guide rails and hold said crosshead member properly alined during vertical travel thereof; Y

. an elevator platform adapted to carry construction materials or equipment;

. means including said crosshead member for supporting said platform a fixed distance below said crosshead member;

. a hitch member extending through a vertical opening in the center of said crosshead member, said hitch member having top and bottom ends and having a stop block attached thereto between said bottom end and said crosshead member;

f. a concrete bucket removably attached to said bottom end of said hitch member for direct support thereby, said hitch member being vertically movable between an upper position with said stop block in contact with said crosshead member and said concrete bucket spaced above said platform, and a lower rest position in which said concrete bucket is supported by said platform;

. a hoisting cable attached to said top end of said hitch member, said hitch member directly supporting said concrete bucket and said crosshead member when said elevator is suspended above ground level, said concrete bucket being supported on said platform with said elevator at rest at ground level;

h. spring loaded brake shoe means selectively engageable with said guide rails attached to said crosshead member and said hitch member to lock said elevator in position upon movement of said hitch member to said lower rest position; and

i. said brake shoe means being operated by a rotatable drive shaft mounted on said crosshead member, drive shaft rotating means including spring means to normally rotate said drive shaft in one direction to lock said brake shoe means to said guide rails, and a scissors member havin one end attached to said hitch member and another en attached to said drive shaft rotating means to rotate said drive shaft in the opposite direction and unlock said brake shoe means upon said hitch member moving to said upper position. 

